During the Cold War the United States supported a host of corrupt
dictators who oppressed, brutalized, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered
their own citizens. In the name of protecting us from the monster in the
closet, monolithic communism, a succession of American presidents, both
Democrats and Republicans, promoted a foreign policy that knowingly and
willingly sacrificed the liberty of other people in order to secure a
false sense of safety for Americans.

American foreign policy was based on the specious premise that as
long as a ruler professed he was anti-Communist, it did not matter
whether or not he was pro-democracy. Whenever one of these petty
potentates got in trouble, when the people in his country dared to
challenge his authority and seek liberty and freedom, American officials
were quick to step in and “mediate” or “moderate” under the subterfuge
of “preserving democracy,” “insuring stability” and “protecting American
interests.”

If things got really out of hand, we “facilitated” a “change in
government,” which actually meant changing dictators. In some cases, the
regimes eventually were overthrown by popular uprising that resulted in
a government that turned against us.

We sowed into the wind of tyranny and
when the wall came down and the iron curtain was lifted, and the monster
was revealed as a fabrication and a fable, America began to reap the
whirlwind of resentment, anger and hatred from the people who suffered
under the thumb of “Made in America” despots.

Yet since 9/11, another succession of American presidents has
continued this failed and fallacious policy by simply replacing one
monster with another. Instead of the monster in the closet, we have the
monster under the bed - called by various names such as jihadists,
Islamist, terrorist.

Whatever the monster is called, American foreign policy makers are
still willing to sacrifice the liberty of other people in a vain and
foolish effort to assure our own security. We continue to sow into the
wind, and if we do, we will continue to reap the whirlwind.

The Egyptian people, along with other peoples in the Middle East,
have suffered for decades under a succession of dictators propped up by
the United States. While claiming to be a beacon of freedom and
democracy, American Middle East policy has been driven by factors that
directly contradict these claims - illusionary strategic interests, oil,
and an irrational need to support “friendly” nations regardless of
their internal politics.

The much despised and maligned Arab-on-the-street is finally sick of
it. The wave of uprisings that began in Tunisia, spread to Egypt and may
soon engulf other Arab nations are inspired by the same spirit that
swept through eastern Europe in 1989 and brought down the Soviet
empire. At their core, they are driven by the same spirit that
motivated the Tea Party movement.

The people in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities are not
Islamists, jihadists or terrorists. They are shopkeepers, street
vendors, small businessmen, professionals, housewives, and families;
Muslims and Christians united in a common cause. They are not chanting
anti-American or anti-Israeli slogans; they are demanding their
birthright as human beings - liberty and freedom.

America’s true interests in the Middle East, and in the world, lie
not in sustaining dictators but in nurturing liberty and freedom.
America’s interest are best served by being on the side of the people,
which means letting them decide their own future for themselves. The
question about who is to rule Egypt is not a question that can or should
be decided by anyone in Washington DC. It is a question to be decided
by the Egyptians alone.

There will be a revolution in Egypt, if not today then tomorrow or
the next day. Even if the current uprising is taken over or co-opted by
extremists, the clear trend of history is that tyranny and oppression
will ultimately fail. The universal desire for freedom and
self-government will inevitably triumph. America should urge all nations
to join us in supporting the people of Egypt by leaving them alone to
decide their own form of government as they exercise those blessings
given to all mankind - Liberty and Freedom.